Awards

To recognize the efforts students put into for doing STEM and creating their posters, this year we are bringing back the Outstanding Science Poster awards. These awards will be issued to individuals/teams with the best posters. 

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The posters will be assessed by adult judges during the fair, and winners will be announced in the following week during the morning assembly.
 

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Poster Evaluation Guidelines

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The following guidelines will be used when the judges evaluate the posters

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• Purpose or problem​

  • Is the purpose clear? 

  • Is the problem stated clearly as a question?
     

• Hypothesis/possible solutions

  • For "Collections", "Research", and "Experiment" categories

    • Is the hypothesis complete? Is it testable and clearly addresses the stated problem? 
       

  • For "Invention" and "Environmental Innovation" categories 

    • Does the poster propose one or more practical solution(s)?

    • Do the possible solutions provide sufficient description for the audience to understand?
       

  • For "Reverse Engineering" category 

    • Does the poster illustrate how the student thinks the device should work? 
       

• Experiment OR Research OR Plan & Create

  • For projects in "Collection" category

    • Is the shown collection organized in more than one way to show relationships between the items collected? Do(es) the organization(s) answer(s) the hypothesis completely?
       

  • For projects in "Research" and "Experiment" categories 

    • Does the poster cite 1 or more sources from different resources for research?

    • Does the student make a clear and well-elaborated connection to the research, the problem, and the hypothesis?

    • Are graphs, tables, or other visual elements used to present and analyze results?

    • Is the work almost entirely in students' own words?
       

  • For "Invention" category 

    • Does the student provide adequate details, giving the audience a general understanding of how the invention works?

    • Does the poster provide an analysis of obstacles as well as functional design of the invention (e.g. durability, strength, ease of use)? 
       

  • For "Environmental Innovation" category  

    • Does the student provide clear steps/stages/phases on how to solve the problem?

    • Do these steps demonstrate creativity and thoroughness?

    • Is there a clear timeline that outlines when the steps/stages/phases should happen?

    • Are pictures/diagrams used? 
       

  • For "Reverse Engineering" category  

    • Does the poster include in-depth analysis of how the device work?

    • Does it include explanation of critical parts?

    • Are pictures/diagrams and words used to describe how each part is attached to the device?

    • Does the poster identify the various engineers, scientists, and product designers needed to design and produce the device?

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• Conclusion

  • Does the conclusion address the problem?

  • Does it state if the hypothesis is supported or rejected, and why?
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• Overall quality and presentation skills

  • Is the poster appealing and readable? Is it organized and clear? Does it use understandable visuals?​

  • Is the student present at the poster and is willing to discuss the project and answer questions?​

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